IPL 2026: HARDIK’S A SKIPPER TRIPPER! MI suffer their fifth defeat of the season
Updated On: 25 April, 2026 10:17 AM IST | Mumbai | Rohan Koli
As five-time champions Mumbai Indians suffered their fifth defeat in seven games — a 103-run hammering by CSK at Wankhede on Thursday — a mid-day deep dive into captain Pandya’s performance reveals he’s struggling with his batting, bowling, and leadership role
MI skipper Hardik Pandya. PIC/IPL
Powerless batter
Once hailed as the league’s most dangerous power-hitter, Hardik Pandya has looked clueless with the bat this season. In six innings, he has managed just 97 runs at a poor average of 19.40, with a highest score of 40. His sequence of scores reads 18*, 9, 40, 14, 15, and one. This clearly highlights his inability to both stabilise an innings or finish it. In fact, as a finisher, he has hit only two sixes so far this season and this has only added to the pressure on MI’s other batters, particularly while chasing big targets.
Ineffective bowler
Pandya has proved to be one of the weakest links in MI’s bowling department which has been struggling overall. He has leaked runs upfront and, in turn, helped ease the pressure on opponents at the start of the innings. Among all the bowlers in IPL-19, who have delivered 15 overs or more so far, Pandya has given away a whopping 190 runs at an unreasonably high economy rate of 12.67, making him the most expensive bowler. He has been ineffective too, considering he has just picked three wickets in six games. In the crucial clash against CSK on Thursday, Pandya leaked 38 runs in his first two overs (the team’s second and fourth) straightaway handing the momentum to their in-form opener Sanju Samson, who went on to hammer an unbeaten 54-ball 101.
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